4l6 THE JOURNAL OF GEOLOGY. 



copper, gold and silver, the platinum group of metals and coal and 

 iron, though many others might be mentioned, for every subject under- 

 taken has been thoroughly treated. In the article on copper the sta- 

 tistics of production and consumption, as well as the condition of the 

 various domestic and foreign markets, are fully discussed by the editor, 

 and, in addition, separate articles are also given on " American Meth- 

 ods of Ore Sampling and Assaying," by Albert R. Ledoux, and on 

 " Bessemerizing Copper Matte," by Charles Wade Stickney. The 

 article on the statistics of gold and silver is by Mr. R. P. Rothwell, 

 editor of the volume, and is an excellent piece of statistical work, giv- 

 ing, as it does, the statistics of production of gold and silver in the 

 world for a number of years back. To this article are appended inter- 

 esting papers on the "Chronology of the Gold and Silver Industry, 

 1492- 1892," by Walker Renton Ingalls, on " Recent Improvements in 

 Gold Chlorination," by John E. Rothwell, and on the " Cyanide 

 Process," by Louis Janin, Jr. 



The article on the Platinum Group of Metals, by Charles Pullman, 

 gives complete information regarding the production, consumption, 

 nature of the deposits, metallurgy and uses of platinum and its 

 related metals, iridium, rhodium, osmium, palladium and ruthenium. 

 The articles on Coal and Coke and on Iron and Steel, both by 

 Mr. Wm. B. Phillips, give full statistics of production and consumption, 

 as well as interesting historical data, and reports of the condition of va- 

 rious markets. Many of the other articles in this volume deserve 

 mention, but lack of space forbids further detail. It may be said, 

 however, that everything necessary is presented, and nothing unneces- 

 sary or unreliable is given; in other words, the volume contains no 

 trash. 



One of the most noticeable features of the volume is the uniform 

 and systematic manner in which the results are presented. The uni- 

 form arrangement of statistics is a matter requiring the greatest labor 

 and statistical ability. Compiling a single table of statistics is a simple 

 matter, but arranging a vast mass of statistics, relating to many diverse 

 subjects, on a uniform and intelligible basis, is entirely another matter, 

 and requires the highest skill of the statistician. In the Mineral 

 Industry this has been accomplished in a most successful manner; 

 everything is clear and intelligible at the first glance, and everything 

 is in its proper place. A great detriment to the systematic presen- 

 tation of statistics has been, as pointed out by the editor, the necessity 



